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IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT OF AKWANGA NASARAWA STATE 1

A. Aliyu, 2M.A. Modibbo,

3N.I. Medugu and

4O. Ayo

1,2

Department of Geoinformation

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 3,4

Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nasarawa State University, Keffi

E-mails: [email protected] ,

[email protected] ,

[email protected]

Abstract: Human activities, climate change coupled with rural poverty have led to increased

deforestation in the rural areas of Nigeria. Given the low productivity of the soil in the tropics

to which Nigeria belongs, the poor state of the farmers and subsistence nature of agriculture

in Nigeria, green environment may be difficult to sustain. There is therefore the need to better understand the constraint and challenges of deforestation especially in the study areas of

Nasarawa state. This paper seeks to assess the extent of the impacts of deforestation on socio-

economic development of the study area and how the stakeholders will adopt

environmentally friendly management options for forest resources. This study adopted the

quantitative methodology including interviews with stakeholders using survey questionnaire. Five villages were randomly selected for inclusion in this study. The justification for the

selection of the villages was based on the fact that they featured different forest management

problems. Findings revealed that the knowledge base of the different stakeholders about

technological dimensions of forest resources management is very low due to lack of

awareness and low educational attainment. There is therefore the need to broaden stakeholders’ initiatives to cope with contemporary challenges posed by deforestation in

these villages

Keywords: Sustainable management; deforestation; stakeholders; socio-economic.

1. Introduction

Over the years, sustainable management of forest resources has been of primary concern due

to its potential impact on biological diversity and importance in maintaining global ecological

functions (Areola, 1987). In spite of its importance, the natural tropical high forest has

continued to diminish rapidly in the African continent, thus dwindling sustainable forest

management. Nigeria could face the possibility of timber and fuel wood scarcity towards the

end of the century. It has been predicted that within the next fifty years, unless adequate

measures are taken, most humid tropical forestland area in Africa could be transformed into

unproductive land and the deterioration of the savannah into desert will be accelerated

(Hunter et al, 2005; Kio,1990; Medugu, 2010).

International Journal of Science, Environment ISSN 2278-3687 (O)

and Technology, Vol. 3, No 2, 2014, 403 – 416

Received Jan 31, 2014 * Published April 2, 2014 * www.ijset.net

404 A. Aliyu, M.A. Modibbo, N.I. Medugu and O. Ayo�

The level of community nutrition is sometimes linked to fuel wood availability and cost,

majority of the people residing on the African continent use fuel wood as their main source of

energy for cooking. In many areas, due to increasing population the existing wood resources

are over exploited. It is claimed that there are now places in the Sahel region where fuel wood

has become so expensive that it absorbs about half the monthly budget of some poor families

in urban areas. Some families could only afford one meal per day as a result of high cost of

fuel wood and other alternative sources of energy for cooking (Enabor, 1981; Bowling, 2000;

Mizra, 2003).

With extensive deforestation, villagers are compelled to walk long distance to fetch fuel

wood and eventually tempted to substitute dried animal dung and crop residues for fuel

wood. This tends to have serious consequences for local agricultural production and

productivity because; the rural communities also rely on this substituted resource for

improving soil fertility. Apart from the deterioration in the quality of life associated with

forest degradation, there are other more insidious effects that endanger the future of humans

on this planet. Nearly 500 million people around the world depend on forest for their

livelihood; among them are a high number of forest and wood workers (Munich, 2010;

Bowling, 2000). Therefore, sustainable forestry management must include safe, stable jobs

with adequate wages and working conditions (Krausmann and Mushtaq, 2008).

In Nigeria, environmental problems that are termed degradation collectively, such as desert

encroachment, erosion, flooding and drought etc all have a strong link with deforestation. In

Nasarawa state for instance, escalated soil erosion, flooding, increase in aridity, all of which

have strong relationship with deforestation, have affected a significant proportion of the state.

Academia, scholars and researchers are of the opinion that deforestation risk reduction is a

systematic approach of identifying, addressing, and reducing the risks of disaster to a

community (Dong et al, 2009; Chowdhury 2003; Andrade and Scarpati, 2007). Generally,

deforestation is caused by a variety of factors (Alexander 1993; Burton et al 1978; Jonkman

and Kelman, 2005; Fendler 2008; Zhang et al 2008). However, (Ajibade, 2002; Wards 1978)

viewed deforestation as clearing of any area of its natural vegetation cover which is normally

lead to decrease in plants population resulting in loss of plant biodiversity Nonetheless,

excessive deforestation over a long period has been the cause of many drought like features

(Atta-ur-Rahman and Amir 2011; Hunter et al 2005; Ali 2007; Adebayo 2010; Osemeobo,

1993). Deforestation presents multiple environmental problems in our society today. The

present and long term effects of human activities such as logging, bush burning and land

�� Impacts of Deforestation on Socio-Economic Development …. 405�

clearance for construction are factors that contribute to deforestation which are almost certain

to jeopardize our lives on earth. As a result of the exploding population the rate of

deforestation in Akwanga is becoming quite alarming, fertile agricultural land is gradually

being taken over by unfertile land due to increase in aridity caused by deforestation thereby

resulting in the decline of the productivity of the land. Strong hazardous wind that destroy

and damage building roofs and growing plants, which for long had been occasional, is

gradually becoming a yearly phenomenon. Also, the problem of flooding which cannot be

said to be a new problem has taken on a more dominating dimension due to the growth of

urban population and the rapid increase in agricultural practices

2. The study area

Akwanga lies between latitude 80 55’N, longitude 8

0 23’E and covers an area an area of 996

km2. The town is located in central Nigeria and the vegetation of the study area can be

classified as park Savannah with scattered trees and grasses. The area is situated on a gentle

undulating slope on the platform that is plain. The average elevation of Akwanga is 290m

above sea level. The soil of the area is derived from basement complex rocks. These soils are

weakly developed and non-leached ferruginous tropical soil of alluvial origin (FAO, 1993).

The climate as weather report reveals that the highest temperature in Akwanga occurs in the

dry season between January and April. During this period, maximum temperature within the

area ranges between 300 -33

0 C. The temperature drops during the rainy season to its lowest

level in August that is about 200C. The rainfall is moderate with annual total ranging

approximately between 1,100 to 1,650 millimeters with about 60% of the annual rainfall

during the months of June to September.

Akwanga is composed of many ethnic groups in high proportion with their cultural

backgrounds coming into play in various aspects of human endeavor, environmental

conservation being one of them. It has a population of 113,430 people (NPC, 2006) and made

up of diverse ethnic groups principal among which are the Mada, Eggon, Rindre and

Kantana, as well as settler groups like Hausa, Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba among others. Figure

1 and 2 below shows map Akwanga town the study area and map of Nasarawa state showing

Akwanga local government area respectively.


Figure 1.1: Map of Nasarawa state showing Akwanga local government council

Figure 1.2: Map of Akwanga showing the study area

3. Materials and methods

The data for this study was generated from field survey conducted in the area and relevant

literature on the subject matter through the administration of questionnaire. A total of 100

questionnaires were randomly administered with 20 respondent selected from in each village.

For the questionnaire administration, checklist was used, and designed with the type of

questions that are relevant to the study objectives. These villages include Buku, Gwanje


Andaha, Moro and Nunku in Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa state. Two

types of questions pattern were used; these are the structured and semi-structured. Responses

were coded and analyzed using Microsoft excel package where frequencies and percentages

were derived and the results were presented using tables, bar graphs and pie charts. These

methods of analysis were selected to enable the phenomenon to be assessed without difficulty

and to provide basis for the assessment of the problem.

The raw information were tabulated and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis to assess

the impacts of deforestation on socio-economic development in the study sites thereby

drawing inferences from the observed frequencies. The questionnaire covered basic

information of respondents profile such as age, educational level, occupation, income among

others. Other questions raised include primary source of energy for cooking, nature of the

impact of deforestation, method of grazing, impact of tree felling, change in the density of

trees, effects of deforestation on socio-economic development of Akwanga Local

Government Area etc. While the secondary data source involved the search into published

and unpublished materials relevant to the subject matter.

4.0 Results and Discussion

4.1 Basic Information

It was deemed necessary to generate information on the profile of respondent to reveal some

basic information on their socio-economic activities and how they will cope with the

management strategies. Thus, information on age, educational attainment, occupational

characteristics and level of income were solicited from the respondents in the selected

villages. Survey results indicated that the bulk of respondent are within the age bracket of 41

to 60 years and this constitute 46% and the least falls within the age bracket of 18 to 20 being

the active age mostly school age group. The respondent that falls within the age group of 41

to 60 are mostly adult and farmers that are engaged in one form of tree felling or the other.

This implies that the age distribution for the respondents were not even. Figure 1.3 shows the

age distribution of respondents.


Figure 1.3: Age distribution of respondents

On the educational attainment, survey responserevealed that 58% of the respondents have no

formal education, 20% of the respondents attended primary education 13% high school while

9% had bachelor’s degree and above. The overall scenarioreveals that 58% of the respondents

are illiterates and lack the basic knowledge of modern farming practices. Those that are

somehow educated have taken up white collar jobs in bigger cities. Those residing in the

villages are farmers who have little or no knowledge of the effects of deforestation on the

socio-economic development of the study area, thereby engaging themselves in

indiscriminate felling of trees for survival and without any thought of replacing them due to

lack of awareness. Figure 1.4 provides the educational attainment of respondents

Figure 1.4: Educational attainment of the respondents

The response on occupational characteristics revealed that 47% of the respondents are

farmers (cultivators and grazers), 38% sell wood for fuel while the remaining 15% are in

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other occupational sector. This shows that the major occupation of the inhabitants is

agriculture (farming) and fuel wood trade this is due to their low level of education, most of

the respondents are subsistence farmers crowing crops such as maize, groundnuts, cassava,

sorghum amongst others; no cash crops are being grown by the respondents. This practice

requires clearing of large tracks of arable land that leads to deforestation due to increased

demand arising from population increase. Occupation of the respondents is taken into

consideration in order to ascertain how their occupation influences deforestation in the study

area.The study has shown that due to the low level of education of the respondents they are

oblivious to the fact that deforestation affects the socio-economic development of Akwanga

Local Government Area through their unhealthy agricultural practices, the effects of these

practices includes the destruction of biodiversity leading to the decline in agricultural

productivity and thereby slowing the socio-economic development of Akwanga, this can

easily lead to hunger, starvation and famine if not quickly checked. Figure 1.5 shows the

occupational characteristics of the respondents.

Figure 1.5: Occupation of characteristics of respondents

The figure below shows the level and nature of impact of deforestation on the study area.

Majority of the respondents believe that the impact of deforestation is severe, the impact of

deforestation include the loss of biodiversity plants and animals, erosion and the distortion of

the hydrological circle. All these can lead to the reduction of crop yield since most of the

respondents are subsistence farmers thereby affecting their socio-economic development.

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4.2Primary source of energy for cooking

Figure 1.6below reveals that fuel wood constitutes the bulk of primary source of energy for

cooking which is closely followed by charcoal a product from fell trees. This therefore,

implies that the major source of energy consumed in most parts of the study area is closely

associated with deforestation because fuel wood and charcoal are basically cheaper and

affordable by the respondents. The respondents engage in indiscriminate felling of trees to

obtain energy without taking into cognizance its impacts on the socio-economic effects on the

environment such as climate change, ozone layer depletion, erosion and flooding. The

implication is that deforestation will continue unabated because of high demand for cooking

and absence of proper legislation on deforestation and the attitudes of loggers. There is a need

for a pragmatic approach in the form of policy formulation through proper legislation

prohibiting the general public from indiscriminate tree felling and bush burning.

Figure 1.6: Primary Source of energy for domestic cooking

Grazing is a process by which domestic animals are being fed either on natural or cultural

vegetation. Akwanga Local Government Area is highly blessed with lush vegetation which

attracts herdsmen. The commonest type of grazing system is nomadic and ranching that leads

to deforestation through the cutting of grasses and shrubs. During the survey, it was

discovered that Fulani cattle herdsmen from the drier north of Nigeria migrate to Akwanga in

search of lush vegetation that abound for their livestock as observed by (Ishaku, 2012). This

occupational mobility has been a source of concern as over grazing has a multiplier effects on

available vegetation leading to soil erosion and flash floods in the area. Figure 1.7 below

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

frequency

FUEL WOOD, 56

Charcoal, 29

Kerosene, 11

OTHERS , 4

FUEL WOOD

Charcoal

Kerosene

OTHERS


reveals the degree of grazing activities on vegetation of the study area. As can be seen from

the figure below the effects is very severe as rated by the survey responses.

Figure 1.7: Impact of over grazing on the environment

It is noteworthy that about 82% of the respondents emphasized that, the random movement of

these animals (cattle, sheep and goats) on natural vegetation is the method mostly adopted

feeding animals, whereas 18% of the respondents restrict their animals within a limited

vegetative area. Because of the fact that most Fulani nomads in the area practice random

grazing most of the grasses are set on fire so that new ones could grow for their cattle to feed

on making it difficult for other plants to sprout up. This practice has led to the extinction of

various plants and thereby introducing foreign species that further impoverish the soil. Plants

that have medicinal potential and other animal species are hunted for food in the study area

thereby disturbing the entire ecosystem and worsening the socio-economic development of

the study area.

From the survey results it was discovered that deforestation has led to change in the density

of trees in the study area. Results revealed 75% of the respondents agreed to the fact that

deforestation has led to the change in density of trees in Akwanga Local Government Area as

can be seen in the current vegetation cover compared to what was obtainable some few years

back. Most of the respondents agree that deforestation has led to the change in density of

trees and that some trees they use to have in abundance before are gradually disappearing

some of the trees mentioned by the respondents include Mahogany, Malina, Obeche, Shea

butter tree and locust bean tree. This shows that aside from using wood as fuel energy for

domestic cooking, resident embark on lumbering for commercial purposes for roofing. This

Very Severe, 30

Severe, 60

Not Severe, 10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

FREQUENCY

Very

Severe

Severe


phenomenon has been one of the contributing factors for deforestation in many parts of

Nigeria on general and indeed the study area to specific. Figure 1.8 shows the distribution of

response in respect of tree densities

Figure 1.8: Impacts of deforestation on density of trees?

On the effects of deforestation on the socio-economic development of Akwanga, about 79%

of the respondents indicated that deforestation has affected the socio-economic development

of Akwanga Local Government Area negatively while 21% of the respondents disagreed with

the preposition that deforestation negatively affects socio-economic development of

Akwanga Local Government Area.

Figure 1.9: Impacts of deforestation on the socio-economic activities

Some of the socio-economic changes in Akwanga Local Government that is directly linked to

deforestation include the loss of vegetation cover making the soil bare and prone to erosion.

As a consequence the soil losses its fertility and there is poor crop yield. Also, it leads to

accelerated erosion in the study area. Most of the respondents believe that deforestation has

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reduced crop yield, this is due to the fact that the level of crop production keeps dropping in

recent years as farmers are ill-equipped to combat the problem of erosion, the loss of plants

that has medicinal potential and animal species that have migrated to other areas because of

loss of habitat all contribute negatively to the socio-economic development in the study area.

Most of the forested lands in Nigeria are located in the rural areas and in these areas where

the level of environmental awareness is very low compared to the highly enlightened

populace in the city centers. Therefore, the physical effects of deforestation which are mostly

environmental are not foreseen by the rural dwellers. However the economic effects of

deforestation which affects their substance directly cannot be over emphasized. It is thus very

common to observe the high cost of forage crops and other forest products as deforestation

results in their scarcity in communities and settlements where they used to be cheap and

available; this is in agreement with (Oguntala, 1994).

5. Conclusions

Deforestation, partly resulting from unsustainable agricultural practices and fuelwood

exploitation are exacerbating problems of environmental degradation especially

desertification and soil erosion and loss of biodiversity in the more humid guinea Savanna

and rain forest regions. These environmental problems may ultimately result in soil

impoverishment or outright loss of the productive topsoil with an attendant decline in

vegetation cover of the areas. This will consequently cause forest ecosystems to change in

various ways, such as in animal and plant species distribution, changes in tree physiology and

stability. This will manifest itself in stand-level effects, as well as in major disruptions or

disasters caused by more dramatic weather events. Therefore, forest protection and

management will have to assure that these effects can be foreseen, managed and limited to

the greatest extent possible, particularly due to the very long production and ecological cycle

of forests.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance that government at federal, state and local level should

address the problem of unsustainable agricultural practices and fuel wood exploitation so that

our land will continue to be productive and be able to support present and future generations

in Akwanga local government area in particular and Nigeria in general. It is also important

that households use alternative sources of energy such as biogas and solar energy, although

expensive but can help combat climate change and other unforeseen environmental problems.


Therefore, all stakeholders should encourage the cultivation of woodlots in order to stem the

increasing rate of depletion of natural forests given the fact that fuelwood remains the major

source of energy in the rural areas. In view of the problems and impacts of deforestation on

socio-economic development already mentioned, it is pertinent to appreciate the causes of

these problems which are closely linked to the social, economical, cultural and educational

background of the inhabitants. Undoubtedly, humans to a large extent are responsible for

deforestation as a result of activities such as agriculture and road construction amongst

others. But human beings have the ability and potential to change their ways. Humans will

probably turn the situation around and the lost forest can be regenerated. The benefits are that

many trees will help to protect the land from further erosion.

6. S uggestions and Recommendations

For the purpose of safeguarding, controlling and protecting the environment in a more

effective and sustainable manner, the following suggestions have been put forward.

1) Farmers should engage in bush fallowing to allow unfertile land to regenerate after some

reasonable number of years before putting the land into use

2) Plant more woodlots since man must use available natural resources to better his

livelihood and avoid indiscriminate logging and bush burning

3) Government should provide farmers with farm inputs and extension services to educate

rural peasant farmers on latest local techniques for maximum output

4) The local have farmers have their indigenous knowledge about forest management but

very low; and therefore the government should empower them with available and sustainable

knowledge on forest management

5) Existing forests need to be identified and protected to improve biological diversity status

with appropriate sanctions on defaulters and incentives for promoters of tree planting

campaigns

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